Sites I visit

It’s been quite some time since I blogged last. Things changed a lot since then. The new wave is smart phones. And despite all the controversy that surrounds Symbian platform and Nokia abandoning it, there are many of us still using it, trying to squeeze the very last drops of productivity that still remains in these amazing devices that once ruled. This post is for those readers who still use Symbian s60v3 devices (E63, E71, E72, E5), and how they can be productive with their handsets.

The only differentiating factor which defines which platform trends is the choice and variety of application the platform offers. No doubt Android and iOS takes a lead in this space, Windows Mobile is emerging as an alternative. I will list out some amazing applications which make me continue to stick to Symbian while you get a clear picture of what you should do next.

Note: Before going ahead with installing the apps, I would suggest install latest version of Nokia suite and check for firmware updates.

Opera Mobile provides a great browsing experience. With mobiles with good resolution like E72, it’s amazing, and quite good with E5 as well. The new version Opera Mobile 12 with unlimited speed dials, with regular features like opera turbo, synchronize etc. suits all browsing needs.

Gravity is not just the most feature rich twitter client, but also the only decent Facebook client for S60v3. With applications like fMobi, Facial etc being available only for Belle and S60v5, Gravity is what you need for a decent experience on Facebook. For Twitter addicts, it’s a must have. It has notifications for Twitter and Facebook, alerts for Twitter (alters for Facebook are expected soon), can check-in to places using Foursquare, it is a total social networking package!

What I like about Nimbuzz is the fact that you can add all your chat accounts in this client. Be it Yahoo, Gtalk, Msn or Facebook. Also, you can make voip calls to Yahoo, Gtalk and other Nimbuzz users. With Nimbuzz ping, you are always connected, even when you the application closed.

What platforms like Android, iOS and Symbian lacked was a feature like BlackBerry Messenger. This shortcoming was fulfilled by Whatsapp instant messenger. It links to your phone number and you can send unlimited messages to other Whatsapp users, share pictures, sound clips, Videos and your location. Best part, since it supports multiple platforms, you can now stay connected to your friends on other platforms.

When you use multiple applications on your phone, you will notice that the active home screen of your Nokia don’t have enough shortcuts and the default task manager isn’t handy enough. JBTaskman comes to rescue here. With this app you can make shortcuts to launch your favorite applications easily and manage running tasks. Also, it provides in-depth details of running processes and lets you manager them.

A theft aware application comes in handy to track your phone and to wipe it in case of an unfortunate eventuality of you losing the phone. This free application is very feature rich and has an interesting stealth mode.

I believe Nokia maps available on your phone provide the best navigation experience. But to get finer details of a location, I would say Google Maps is what you must seek. Also, latitude feature is very interesting to play with.

Want to host internet to a laptop which doesn’t have Nokia suite? Or your tablet which can use Wi-Fi? Tethering is what you are looking for. Joiku Spot can host a wifi hot spot which can be accessed by a Wi-Fi enabled device. The premium version is now available for free, and you can secure the access point you host with a password.

Some more interesting apps I would recommend are Voyager vHome, Vlingo, TuneWiki, CuteBox. These applications will help you stick to your Symbian device while you decide where you will be heading next.